Africa-Press – Lesotho. African countries contributed US$425 million to finance space activities in 2023, at a time when the global space economy is expected to grow by around 41% over the next five years.
According to data from the media company “Space in Africa”, which is dedicated to analysis and consultancy in the African space and satellite industry, in 2022, the global space economy grew by around 8%, reaching 546 billion dollars. As a result, it is estimated that this growth will reach 1.1 trillion dollars by 2030.
By the way, the Minister of Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Social Communication, Mário Oliveira, when speaking at the closing of World Space Week, said that activities using space infrastructures are increasing, both in the economic sphere and in social status of countries.
Mário Oliveira considered that, currently, space science and its applicability are quite diverse, and can be seen as a true ecosystem of innovation, business and entrepreneurship.
From this perspective, the government official recalled that, during the week dedicated to space, Angola promoted lectures and entrepreneurship sessions, with the presentation of projects that use space technology aimed at startups, small and medium-sized companies.
These operators, he continued, will boost the Telecommunications and Information Technologies sector in the country, using services provided by small internet providers, making it possible to provide a varied range of products and services.
According to Mário Oliveira, advances with Angosat-2, which has high data transmission rates in the order of more than 13 Gbps of available bandwidth, were also referenced throughout the week.
Mário Oliveira recalled that, after more than six months of operational and service tests, the Angolan satellite is in the commercial phase and is being widely used to provide telecommunications services to national operators, as well as companies in other sectors.
of the national economy, such as the oil and diamond sectors. The closing act of World Space Week was marked with the launch of “PEN-ODS”, a technological tool that aims to contribute to the monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), using the National Space Program.
According to the minister, in the World Space Week/2023 program, Angola included lectures and seminars with national lecturers and the main space agencies, such as NASA, ROSCOSMOS and ESA-European Space Agency, as well as startups from different countries, in order to also present the different ways of undertaking in the space sector.
This week, he highlighted the achievement of three of the five axes of the National Space Strategy: Training and promotion of the space sector, growth of space industry and technologies and international affirmation of the Angolan State in the space domain.
Under the motto “Space and entrepreneurship”, World Space Week, which Angola celebrates for the sixth consecutive year, was marked by the carrying out of several activities aligned with axis 2 of the National Space Strategy: “Training and Promotion”, with highlighting the country’s achievements in the space sector to achieve the SDGs.
From the 4th to the 10th of October, World Space Week (SME or WSW) is celebrated internationally, a date established by the United Nations (UN) with the aim of celebrating the contribution of science and space technology for the improvement of the human condition. This year, the SME coincides with the approach of October 12th, the date of the first anniversary of the launch of the Angolan Satellite.
For More News And Analysis About Lesotho Follow Africa-Press
